From the Heart by B.Demaere

  God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.  Are you called to be a speaker?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Are you called to help others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power belong to him forever and ever.  Amen. All of us and each of us have at least one gift, but I think most of us have more than one gift because God is very generous.  Using those gifts is good for our well-being as well as each other and for his glory.  Shouldn't we as well be generous in using the gifts God has given us?  I think so! Our gifts are being used all the time, whether we are in the local church or not.  The Church is no longer limited to four walls.  Now the Church is truly global.  We operate differently over the borders and online.  We live in a totally d

  Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time.  He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God.  He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.  So he went and preached to the spirits in prison---those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.  Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.  And this is a picture of baptism which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection.  Baptism is not the removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience. Now Christ has gone to heaven.  He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers are bowing before him. If you guessed that the solution to the quiz was Psalm 112, you are absolutely right.  I made it more difficult by not including the 3 first words: "Praise the Lord" which would have give it away as a p

  So think clearly and exercise self-control.  Look forward to the   special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.    Obey God because you are his children.  Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God---who chose you to be his children---is holy.  For he himself has said, You must be holy because I am holy." Simple as that, obey God! Why? Because you are his children.  What will give you the tenacity to never give up?  You are his son, you are his daughter.  You have a good example to follow.  Our Father!  He is holy. We are associated to that example in our daily lives.  People we meet hopefully see that example reflected in us.  It is in everything we do. Now, what keeps us motivated to do all that is the looking forward of what is coming ahead.  The return of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the blessings that come with this.  Just to see him will be

This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about.  They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean.  They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward.  They wondered when and to whom all this would happen.  They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours.  And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.  It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.   How exciting it is to see that this Apostle of Hope, Peter is the one who was used to launch the Church into Pentecost and now through his writings is the one to usher us into this salvation that is still to come.  The salvation of our souls. Evidently, in his wor

  These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure.  It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold---and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.  So if your faith remains strong after  being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.    You love him even though you have never seen him.  Though you do not see him, you trust him; now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of you souls. Trials Ahead : Now this sign comes up on the road, what do you do? Panic? Lose control of the vehicle? No, you look at it and decide who should be driving! Well Jesus, your turn to take the wheels.  You look at it with the right perspective.  He is bigger than any of those trials coming up.  You can no longer view trials through the eyes of fear, but the eyes of faith since it is your faith that is being tri

All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his  boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again.  Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.  For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children.  It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him.  It will be revealed on the last day for all to see.  So be truly glad!  There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trial for a while.  As I see Peter's epistle right now, I imagine myself as being on a road with this sign saying 'Wonderful Joy Ahead'.  This is basically what Peter I think and the Holy Spirit wants us to focus on.  Sometimes I see myself and others have gloomy faces as they carry their crosses.  The gloomy is over and Jesus Ch

  Then teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread.  You would say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' He would call out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me.  The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed, I can't help you this time.'  But I tell you this--- though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won't be damaged. A friend certainly has a reputation to keep toward you and others.  A good friend will help you as you would help them.  Jesus, though, is emphasizing the need to be importunate in prayer.  Staying on target in your prayer is important.  Too many of us wonder in left field and never receive what we need.  So many of us never see what we need before we receive it.  That friend kne

  All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.  So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation!  For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you.  Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.  We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort. When Paul talked about sufferings he could have been talking about the suffering for Christ through persecutions or hardships through their own problems happening in the church at Corinth (chapter 2:5).  He was certainly very honest in his dealings with that church .  He also had to be de

  Very early the next morning, the king hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you worship continually, able to rescue you from the lions?”  Daniel answered, “Long live the king!  My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted out from the den. Not a scratch was found on him because he had trusted in his God. Daniel thrown to the lions, his friends had been thrown in the furnace earlier but he missed that opportunity. Now he was thrown to the hungry lions and clearly God spared him just as much as he had saved his  friends from the fire. Just like that and almost overnight everything changed in that country. A change of leadership and a few jealous administrators and that was all that it took. Daniel was thrown to the li

  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—-the kind he will accept.  When you think of what he has done for you, is that too much to ask?  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a person by changing the way you think. Then you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. The Apostle Paul here puts the emphasis on self before speaking about the gifting given to each one to minister. He says, first of all, I plead with you, that means that what he is asking is not supposed to be overlooked.  It's important! It is not obviously the giving of 'living' bodies.  Of course, God wants 'living' bodies and not dead ones.  We know two things from scripture,  1) God is pleased by our faith: "God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith." (Hebrews 11:2)                              Verse 6: "So you s

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone on earth.  What do you mean,  'set free'?" Jesus replied, "I assure  you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.  Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham.  And yet some of you are trying to kill me because my message does not find a place in your hearts.  I am telling you what I saw when I was when I was with my Father.  But you are following the advice of your father." "Our father is Abraham," they declared. "No," Jesus replied,  "for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example.&quo

 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the the act of adultery.  They put her in front of the crowd.                                                 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, 'this woman was caught in the very act of adultery.  The law of Moses says to stone her.  What do you say?'                                                                                      They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.'                                                                                  They kept demanding and answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, stone her.  But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!"                                                                       Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.                   When the accusers heard t

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Well, I hope you had a great day yesterday and today. The foundation of the Word is faith.  Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2 NLT) "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish" (the KJV says the Author).  Faith can be translated or interpreted to be Hope which in the Epistle to the Hebrews is described as an anchor.  An anchor is what keeps a boat in the place you want it to be, steady even in the storm.(Hebrews 6:19) On that foundation of faith we built. There is a thread running through the Bible, it is red and it represent, blood.  The blood of Jesus that was shed for us.  That thread appears in the book of Joshua as Rahab puts it by her window (Joshua 2:17-21).  It's there as a sign of salvation to her family.  The family of a prostitute, a Gentile and a descendant of Jesus.  The way to

This is more like a study to do on your own if you like.  Here I just give you pointers and I know you will be blessed if you do it with me.  We start with Jesus in the Temple, clearing it from all its commerce. He said, " The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called  a place (house) of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" Now in Isaiah 56, we see that 'house of prayer' is mentioned twice.  In fact chapter 56:1-8 should be carefully studied for in verse 1, it says: "Be just and fair, " says the Lord, "Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. In verse 7-8 it says: I will bring them also  to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and I will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.  I will accept their burn offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.  For the Sovereign Lord, who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says: I will bring others too, besides my peopl

The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.   He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right path, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. I love the book of Psalms, mostly because it was written by a man who loved God with all his heart and also because it is poetry. But as I dug deeper into this psalm one day, I discovered it had to do all with the presence of God and being with him forever.  Even here on earth. This psalm teaches about life and that everything will be alright as long as I am with

Jesus said, "How can I describe the Kingdom of God?  What story should I use to illustrate it?  It is like  a mustard seed planted in the ground.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches and birds can make nests in its shade." Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.  In fact, in his public ministry he never taught  without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them. Have you ever seen a mustard seed?  It's Okay if you have not because Jesus tells us in the text that it is the smallest of all seeds. In God's kingdom it's a different economy all you need is a small investment but any banker out there would tell you it's foolishness in the world.  God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. (1 Corinthians 1:270.  In God's king